La Serna High football coach Margarito Beltran can live with the CIF finals losses his team has suffered in the past two seasons because he knows how much hard work his players put in to get there.

“It’s a growing process,” said Beltran, whose team reached the CIF-SS Southeast Division final in 2011 and 2012 but lost each time. “Of course you want to be victorious. (Losing) isn’t something we take lightly, but at the same time it’s part of the journey and something that will make us stronger.

“For us, we just have to move forward.”

Beltran said he sees the same work ethic in this year’s squad that sparked the Lancers to a 22-6 record over the last two seasons. La Serna, led by three-year starters Frankie Palmer, Macenzie Duarte and Tony Ceron, enters next week’s season opener against Vista of the San Diego Section with plenty of confidence.

“We’ve got a bunch of great kids who bust their butts and have bought into what we’re doing,” Beltran said. “And it’s not just X’s and O’s, but more important things off the field.

“Our success is a by-product of that. We stress character, courage and being good citizens, being part of the community. The most important thing is the kids knowing they’re part of something bigger than themselves.”

Everything starts with Palmer, the varsity starter at quarterback since his sophomore season. In 2010, Palmer led the Spartans’ freshman team to a 10-0 record, and he’s led La Serna to a pair of CIF finals since.

“He’s a very special football player,” Beltran said. “He has those intangibles that sometimes God graces you with.”

Palmer threw for more than 2,100 yards and 20 touchdowns as a junior and ran for 300 yards. In face, he averaged a staggering 21.4 yards per carry.

“It’s gonna be hard to imagine not having him around (next season),” Beltran lamented.